Judge Squashes Sandy Hook Families' Settlement Deal

Sandy Hook families will have to wait a little longer to recoup anything from Alex Jones. On Wednesday, a federal bankruptcy judge froze a settlement deal between families who say the conspiracy theorist spewed false claims regarding the 2012 mass shooting at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School, per Reuters.

• Details: The proposal had laid out how $16 million from liquidated assets would be divvied up, with families who sued Jones in Connecticut receiving 75% of that amount, and families who sued him in Texas receiving the rest, as well as the right to collect 25% of anything over $12 million that the Connecticut families receive, reports the Austin American-Statesman. Jones owes nearly $1.5 billion overall in the defamation case, though he and Free Speech Systems, parent company of his Infowars platform, filed for bankruptcy in 2022, with bankruptcy trustee Christopher Murray appointed by US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez.

• Overstepping? Lopez said Wednesday that the families were trying to get him to divide Free Speech Systems' assets, which he says is beyond his authority, as he's only handling Jones' personal bankruptcy case. Free Speech Systems' bankruptcy case was dismissed last year. "I can't do that, that case is closed," Lopez said.
• Auction: In December, Lopez also blocked the sale of Infowars to the parody publication the Onion, and he made clear a new auction of Infowars' assets won't be happening. "We're not doing that anymore," he said, per the Houston Chronicle. "I don't trust the process." Lopez noted that he'd instead like to see a "pure sale" of the company's equity, rather than a piecemeal approach that sells off assets, per Reuters.
• What's next? Lopez noted in court on Wednesday that the families and Murray could either try to take care of their issues in state court or come up with another settlement plan. Courthouse News notes it's not clear at this point whether Infowars' assets will remain with Murray or fall back into Jones' hands, though Lopez has indicated he wants the case wrapped up sometime this year.
• Families' response: "Whatever steps the families take next, their determination to enforce every penny of judgments against Alex Jones will not change," an attorney for the Connecticut families said in a Wednesday statement, per the American-Statesman.

(More Alex Jones stories.)